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Mohamed Salah fired two penalties to ensure Liverpool beat Leeds United 4-3, but Keith Hackett said referee Michael Oliver made the wrong decision in the first.
Salah gave Jurgen Klopp’s side the lead from the starting point just four minutes from defending the Premier League title after Oliver penalized Robin Koch for handball.
But Sky Sports expert Jamie Carragher considered the penalty should not have been given, and respected former referee Hackett agreed with the former Liverpool defender.
“The referee got a look and was quick to award a penalty kick,” Hackett told Caught Offside. “It was in a great position with a good angle of view.”
Hackett said the decision was wrong because he believes Koch was trying to get his arm away from the ball and because it bounced off the defender’s knee.
(Image: PA)
“It is a subjective decision but in my opinion the result was wrong,” said the 76-year-old.
“For me, I think the defender’s hand didn’t move towards the ball, it was accidental.
“In fact, the ball hit the defender’s knee before rebounding and hitting his lower arm. The defender was clearly trying to retract his arm. “
Hackett added: “Handball offense as far as a defender is concerned has to be deliberate with movement towards the ball and make the body bigger than his silhouette.
“The law states that it is not an offense when the ball touches a player’s hand / arm directly from the player’s head or body (including the foot) in this situation.”
According to the IFAB, the body that governs the laws of the game, “it is not an offense if the ball touches a player’s hand / arm … directly from the player’s head or body (including the foot).”
Hackett described the rule as “a poor law”, saying it created discrepancies between attacking and defending players.
He said: “The law, of course, has a different view if it was an attacking player and a goal would have directly resulted from the incident or had hit the hand / arm and gave his attacking colleague the opportunity to score a goal, then the attacker would be penalized. ” .
“This is a law that frankly treats defenders and attackers differently. In my opinion, it’s a bad law. “
Should Liverpool’s first penalty have been taken? Give your opinion in the comments below.
(Image: PA Photos Ltd)
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Liverpool won the game with Salah scoring a hat-trick and Virgil van Dijk shooting a header.
But the Reds were given a tough ride by newly promoted Leeds, who drew three times before Salah’s second penalty finally put the game to bed with two minutes remaining.
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